Two tough years out from U of C. Originally from outstate Minnesota. Visiting this weekend and hopefully will get a peek at at least the outside of housing, but read all the forms this weekend and plan to bid for a studio and then Rains. Would camp out in the bushes before Crothers (just because I've lived in a real apartment for 4 years now and I just couldn't bear going back that far in time. Besides, I like to bake cookies and you need kitchen access for that ). Super excited.

I got in last year and deferred for a year, so I'm all set to go. I applied for housing last night, and much like a lot of other people, I'm shooting for a studio. We'll see how that goes. Anyhoo, I'm definitely excited!

cim_can wrote:I got in last year and deferred for a year, so I'm all set to go. I applied for housing last night, and much like a lot of other people, I'm shooting for a studio. We'll see how that goes. Anyhoo, I'm definitely excited!

Did you check the box indicating that you would accept any housing if your top picks weren't available? The guy who took me on the housing tour at the ASW encouraged us not to agree to that, since he knows several people who did so and wound up in Crothers. The shared bathrooms and tiny dorm rooms in Crothers really didn't appeal to me, but at the same time, I don't want to be shut out and lose out on my guaranteed 1L housing. I keep putting off my housing app because I'm not sure what to do...

I think the plan I'm going with is to rank a ton of places, but only agree to accept those that would really meet my minimum requirements. I'm not checking the "accept any" option, because there are options, like Crothers or one of the (rare) shared room set ups, that just wouldn't suit me. So figure out what you want, but also what at a minimum you could get by with (for me, a studio is what I want, but any private room with kitchen access will do) and then list those and only those options. Seems like if you indicate that you would take something that in fact you won't, it just ends up making the process more complicated for you. After all how does a guarantee of a room help you if you wouldn't be happy in that room?

In a hopeful light, check out the table that lists the numbers of each type of living situation available. While certainly a fair portion will be taken by upperclassmen, etc., the numbers do seem to skew in favor of studios/private rooms at least

No, I didn't check the box saying I would accept any housing. I ranked 8 choices, as far as I can remember, since I really only want to have my own personal room and a kitchen, like DarlayBoo mentioned. Also, from what I remember during my ASW last year, a lot of 3L's live off-campus in San Francisco, but I might be making that up...

Arbit wrote: Crothers really didn't appeal to me, but at the same time, I don't want to be shut out and lose out on my guaranteed 1L housing. I keep putting off my housing app because I'm not sure what to do...

Any ideas?

One of the current students I spoke with at the ASW recommended checking the "any option will do" box just to be safe. If you do end up with something awful like Crothers, you can always pull out and get your own place (I think you lose something fairly minimal like 50 bucks if you pull out of housing before fall. It must be fairly common practice though, since the continual shuffling is one of the reasons you don't get the names and contact info of any roommates until you've moved in). In reality I suppose it's no different from simply not checking the box if you know that you will not live in Crothers under any circumstances, but at least this way you have a bit more security and a little more time to consider your options, off-campus housing, etc.

I also spoke with another student who has lived off-campus since 1L year, and said he has no regrets. He said Menlo Park is a really good (re: close, as in 12-minute bike ride) option that is a lot cheaper than some of the off-campus options in Palo Alto.

Ok, so just back from my extended weekend visit and WOW! In love even more than before and happily handed in my deposit check in person. Yay!

Just wanted to jump in with a couple housing relevant details I got from talking to a housing rep while I was out there. 1) If what you will accept is any private room with a kitchen, you have an extremely slim chance of not getting housing on campus even if you don't check the "will take any" box as there are very few rooms for single people that don't meet that description (and they're usually filled with people who really want that sort of living situation for one reason of another). Does happen, but only to a couple of people. 2) ***This is not for sure! He said this was just what looked like might be happening!*** But the new dorm is going to open in stages starting after the holidays if all goes well. And they really want to shut down Crothers to renovate it. What they are planning right now is to move all the Crothers people over to the new dorm as the guinea pigs. Potentially at Crothers rates

So 1 means you can probably ignore the "accept any" box if you want without penalty, but 2 means that if you're the gambling type, Crothers might make it worth your while in the long run. Decisions decisions!

Oh, and also learned that the main undergrad library apparently has like 20,000 DVDs in their collection that are circulating materials. The guy I was talking to said he'd watched about 200 of them in his time there. He's a 3L - probably not many of them were his first year - but still, good to know.

Moving in the 25th as well. I keep getting more and more concerned with how late that is, compared to when Orientation starts. I know they told us they'd send information later in the summer, but does anyone know how long Orientation takes? Is it the entire weekend (Thurs-Mon) or do we have some time in there to just chill before classes?

DarlayBoo wrote:Belated ditto with the first choice, the studio, and the excitement! Hope everybody had a good long weekend

Oh, and anyone else moving in the 19th?

I'm moving into a studio on the 19th just so I can get settled and familiar with the area before orientation and classes. Moving in and out have always proved to be the most chaotic parts of my semester, and I'd rather not be stressed out my first few days on campus. Also, the guy who gave my housing tour at the ASW recommended early move in for 1Ls.

Exactly my thinking. Moving in the 19th gives me a week to get my nest all in order, maybe meet a few people casually, then I've got the few days of Orientation to get a feel for the rest of the class, all easing me into the intensity of first semester. I've got a super laid-back summer ahead of me, so I know I'm going to nee a little time to ramp it back up there.

BTW, in case anyone else is trying to figure out how to get all their stuff out to the coast without wracking up a ton of costs, consider taking the train. I'm doing it from MN to San Jose I think. It will take like three days, but the coastal leg in particular is supposed to be amazingly gorgeous. And it's like $260 for a ticket that includes 3 up to 50lb checked bags and two 50lb carry ons, plus if you need to ship more you can add additional checked 50lbs for $10 each apparently. I mean I've really gotten rid of a lot of stuff in anticipation of the move, but I've still got some books and stuff I'd really like to have with and if anyone's looked at shipping/airline baggage costs lately.... Not everyone is a train person, but I kind of love them, so I thought I'd pass the thought along.